Aviation News

While the BasicMed semi-self-certification for airmen has been a boon for stateside pilots, it’s largely a domestic policy. Now, says AOPA, Mexico is set to allow pilots flying on BasicMed to visit. The Bahamas had already recognized BasicMed. “I would like to thank Director General Rodrigo Vásquez-Colmenares Guzmán of Mexico’s Dirección General de Aeronáutica Civil […]

A new air racing series has been green lighted by the FAA and it may be coming to an airshow near you in 2021. The Air Show Racing Series will feature head-to-head racing by two aircraft in 4,000-foot parallel slalom lanes marked by inflatable pylons at airshow center. At the end of each run, the […]

A member of the Royal Canadian Air Force Snowbirds ejected safely from his aircraft when something went wrong just before the team was scheduled to perform at the Atlanta Air Show early Sunday afternoon. Capt. Kevin Domon-Grenier, Snowbird 5, landed safely and the aircraft crashed in an unpopulated area and there were no injuries. His […]

Orville Wright is missing and the National Parks Service (NPS) wants him back. A copper reproduction of a bust of one of the founding fathers of aviation as we know it was stolen from the Wright Brothers Monument on Big Kill Devil Hill overnight Saturday or Sunday morning. The heavy granite base was toppled and […]

A team of elite balloonists claimed one of ballooning’s top prizes this week but there was definitely no one to see the final moments of their historic flight. Polish pilot Krzysztof Zapart and American teammate Andy Cayton landed their gas-filled balloon on the muskeg of an uninhabited wilderness about 100 miles south of Hudson Bay […]

Boeing’s Board of Directors separated the roles of company chairman and CEO on Friday, removing Dennis Muilenburg from the position of chairman but emphasizing that he will remain Boeing’s president, CEO, and director. Independent lead director David Calhoun was elected to serve as non-executive chairman. According to the board, separating the roles will “enable Muilenburg […]

This week, AVweb’s news roundup found reports on aircraft battery approvals, new USB charging ports and the signing of a service agreement for a training management system. Battery manufacturer True Blue Power announced the TSO certification of its Gen5 main ship lithium-ion battery family. The batteries received a C179b CLASS A-4B rating after undergoing testing […]

The FAA delegated too much of the 737 MAX’s certification oversight to Boeing and it failed to understand the implications of the MCAS autotrim system, according to an international panel that reviewed the troubled aircraft and released its report today. In the wake of two hull loss accidents that killed 346 people, the Joint Authorities […]

Even with higher flight activity, the general aviation fatal accident rate continues to decline, according to the just-released AOPA Joseph T. Nall Report. In 2015, the fatal rate was at a historic low of 0.92/100,000 flight hours and in 2016, the most recent year for which reliable data is available, it inched down further to […]

Airbus delivered the 1,000th aircraft in its A320neo family of passenger jets on Thursday. The neo—standing for “new engine option”—line includes the A319neo, A320neo and A321neo. Number 1000, an A321neo, went to India-based airline IndiGo, Airbus’ biggest customer for the A320neo family with orders for 430 aircraft. The aircraft was assembled at Airbus’ factory in […]